Routes that are traveled by vehicles may become damaged over time with extended use. For example, tracks on which rail vehicles travel may become broken, cracked, pitted, misaligned, or the like, over time. This damage can pose threats to the safety of the rail vehicles, the passengers located thereon, and nearby persons and property. For example, the risks of derailment of the rail vehicles can increase when the tracks become damaged.
Some known systems and methods that inspect the tracks involve emitting visible markers on the tracks and optically monitoring these markers to determine if the tracks have become misaligned. These visible markers may be created using laser light, for example. But, these systems and methods can require additional hardware in the form of a light emitting apparatus, such as a laser light source. This additional hardware increases the cost and complexity of the systems, and can require specialized rail vehicles that are not used for the conveyance of passengers or cargo. Additionally, these systems and methods typically require the rail vehicle to slowly travel over the tracks so that the visible markers can be examined.
Other known systems and methods involve injecting electric current into the tracks and examining changes to the current to identify open circuits caused by breaks in the tracks. But, these systems and methods also may require additional hardware to inject the current and to sense the current, and may be prone to false identifications of damage to the route.